WHY  BELIEVE  IN 
FOREIGN  MISSIONS? 


BY  MATTHEW  D.  MANN,  A.M.,  M.D. 


**  The  light  that  shines  farthest 
Shines  brightest  nearest  home.” 


THE  BOARD  OF  MISSIONS 
281  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York,  N.  Y. 


^jJlilS  pamphlet  may  be  obtained 

from  the  Secretary,  281  Fourth 
Avenue,  New  York,  by  calling-  for 
Leaflet  No.  1301.  Price,  2  cents  each; 
$1.00  per  hundred. 

All  offerings  for  Missions  should 
be  sent  to  George  Gordon  King, 
Treasurer,  Church  Missions  House, 
281  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York. 


WHY  BELIEVE  IN  FOREIGN  MISSIONS? 

By  Mattheiv  D.  Mann ,  A.  M.,  M.D . 


“For  the  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us 


A  LARGE  number  of  people,  many  of  them  professing  Christians,  do  not  be¬ 
lieve  in  foreign  missions.  One  reason  which  they  give  for  their  opinion 
is  that  while  there  are  so  many  unconverted  heathen  at  home  needing 
our  attention  we  should  not  waste  time,  money  and  energy  on  those  who 
are  so  far  away,  and  who  have  so  little  claim  on  us.  Those  who  hold  this  view 
have  doubtless  never  considered  that  many  of  the  heathen  at  home  are  so  from 
choice;  having  heard  the  Gospel  preached,  they  have  rejected  it;  while  the  unbe¬ 
lievers  in  heathen  lands  are  so  from  necessity,  never  having  heard  of  God  or  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

What  reasons  are  there  for  believing  in  foreign  missions  ?  In  the  first  place, 

because  our  Lord,  just  before  His  ascension,  gave  us  this  com- 
Our  Lord’s  mand :  “Go  ye,  therefore,  and  make  disciples  of  all  the  nations, 

Command  baptizing  them  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 

and  of  the  Holy  Ghost:  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things 
whatsoever  I  commanded  you :  and,  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end 
of  the  world.  (St.  Matt.  xxix.  19,  20.  Rev.  Ver.) 

Make  disciples — baptize — teach — all  the  nations  !  Where  can  we  find  a  more 
positive  and  definite  command  ?  He  also  puts  into  the  prayer  which  is  called  by 
His  name,  among  the  very  first  petitions :  “Hallowed  be  Thy  name ;  Thy  kingdom 
come;  Thy  will  be  done,  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven” — not  alone  in  America,  or 
Canada,  or  England,  but  “on  earth,”  that  is  everywhere.  If  His  will  is  to  be  done 
it  must  be  known,  and  how  can  it  be  known  unless  it  is  told  by  those  to  whom  it  • 
has  been  revealed  ?  Every  time  we  say  the  Lord’s  Prayer,  we  pray  for  the  success 
of  missions  everywhere.  Shall  not  our  acts  and  beliefs  be  in  accordance  with  our 
prayers?  For  the  angel  on  the  first  Christmas  morning  declared,  “I  bring  you 
good  tidings  of  great  joy,  which  shall  be  to  all  people f  implying  very  clearly  that 
those  few  who  heard  the  good  news  should  spread  it.  And  what  could  be  more  im¬ 
perative  than  the  command,  which  covers  both  home  and  foreign  missions,  given 
in  Acts  i.  8 :  “Ye  shall  be  witnesses  unto  me,  both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judaea, 
and  in  Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth.” 

But  you  may  ask,  granting  that  foreign  missions  are  right,  why  is  such  an 

effort  being  made  to  evangelize  the  world  now  ?  Why  did  not 
Why  now  ?  previous  generations  do  it  ?  The  command  was  certainly 

given  as  much  to  them  as  to  us. 

The  answer  is,  simply  because  they  could  not — conditions  were  not  favorable. 
Never  until  now  in  the  history  of  the  world  has  there  been  such  an  opportunity. 
The  nations  which  heretofore  have  been  absolutely  closed,  and  which  have  rejected 

all  attempts  to  convert  them,  have  opened  their  doors  and  are 
Heathen  now  ready  to  hear.  Africa,  China,  Korea,  Japan,  India,  and 

nations  open  even  some  Moslem  countries  are  open  as  never  before  and  the 

people  willing  to  hear  our  message.  It  took  many  years  to 
make  the  first  Christian  convert  in  China.  Now  there  are  more  than  2,000,000. 
At  the  rate  converts  are  being  made,  in  thirty-five  years  there  will  be  in  China  over 
100,000,000  followers  of  Jesus  Christ — a  quarter  of  the  population.  (Dr.  Pott.) 


4 


Why  Believe  in  Foreign  Missions? 

Twenty-five  years  ago  there  was  not  a  Christian  in  Korea;  now  there  are  more  than 
200,000,  and  the  number  increasing  at  the  rate  of  30  per  cent,  each  year. 

Never  have  Christian  nations  been  so  prosperous,  or  had  so  much  money  to 

give  as  now.  Never  has  it  been  so  cheap  and  easy  to  travel,  or 

The  world  rich.  have  we  ever  had  so  many  persons,  men  and  women,  ready  to 

Travel  easy  go  if  only  they  can  be  provided  with  the  means. 

Again,  we  hear  this  question  asked:  Why  disturb  these 
people  in  the  faith  of  their  ancestors?  Their  religions  are  older  than  ours;  let 
them  alone ;  they  will  do  well  enough,  and  God  in  His  mercy  will  accept  those  who 
do  right  according  to  their  light. 

This  is  a  mistake.  The  heathen  religions  have  not  done  well  for  the  people, 

nor  do  they  lead  the  people  to  do  right.  It  is  Christianity 

Heathen  relig-  alone  which  has  given  us  our  civilization  and  placed  us  so 
ions  not  enough  much  in  advance.  China  has  stot,  d  still  for  thousands  of  years, 

bound  by  the  old  systems,  but  is  now  losing  faith  in  its  re¬ 
ligions.  The  contact  with  western  civilizations,  aided  by  the  missionaries,  has 
taught  the  people  that  they  have  missed  something,  and  they  are  beginning  to  see 
that  the  fault  has  been  largely  with  their  religious  and  ethical  systems.  Many  of 
them  are  throwing  away  their  idols,  abandoning  the  temples  and  seeking  the  true 
light. 

Dr.  Kato,  one  of  Japan’s  foremost  philosophers  and  students,  says  (Literary 
Digest ,  November  19th,  1910)  :  “In  recent  times  Buddhism  has  done  nothing  but 
go  from  bad  to  worse,  and  it  is  to-day  in  a  pitiable  condition.  Speaking  of  the  re¬ 
ligion  generally,  we  may  say  that  it  has  descended  to  the  level  of  a  sale  of  prayers 
and  ceremonies  for  such  payment  as  people  can  be  induced  to  make.”  The  picture 
which  the  Japanese  themselves  draw  is  of  dire  need  of  a  true  religion.  Their  re¬ 
ligions  have  no  message  for  the  ignorant,  the  old,  the  weary,  the  sick  and  the 
dying. 

You  will  find  abundant  evidence,  if  you  will  read,  that  this  is  true  not  only  in 
.  Japan  but  in  China,  and  in  other  heathen  countries.  None  of  these  religions  give 

any  adequate  idea  of  God,  especially  of  God  as  a  loving  Father. 
No  idea  of  God  How  could  we  expect  them  to  ?  “Canst  thou  by  searching  find 

out  God?”  (Job  xi.  7.)  We  get  our  clearest  knowledge  of 
God  by  direct  revelation  in  the  Bible.  They  have  had  no  such  revelation,  and  are 
largely  atheists,  except  the  Mohammedans.  Hinduism  has  330,000,000  gods. 
Buddhism  deliberately  denies  the  existence  of  God.  Max  Muller  says :  “Buddha 
denies  the  existence  not  only  of  the  Creator,  but  of  any  absolute  being.”  While  the 
Indian  Buddhists  are  atheists,  the  Buddhists  of  Japan  worship  Buddha  himself. 

The  Chinese  worship  Confucius  and  their  own  ancestors  and  a  multitude  of 
idols.  They  are  simply  stumbling  blindly,  seeking  the  light  and  seeing  it  not,  be¬ 
cause  it  has  not  been  kindled  within  the  line  of  their  vision. 

Another  great  trouble  is  that  none  of  these  religions  have  any  knowledge  of  a 

Saviour.  There  is  but  one  Saviour,  and  they  have  never  heard 
No  knowledge  of  Him.  For  “there  is  none  other  name  under  heaven  given 
of  a  Saviour  among  men  whereby  we  must  be  saved.”  (Acts  iv.  12.)  Be¬ 
cause  there  is  no  other,  we  read :  “And  in  His  name  shall  the 
Gentiles  trust.”  (St.  Matt.  xii.  21.)  “For  whosoever  shall  call 'upon  the  name 
of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved.  How  then  shall  they  call  on  him  in  whom  they  have 
not  believed?  and  how  shall  they  believe  in  him  of  whom  they  have  not  heard? 
and  how  shall  they  hear  without  a  preacher  ?  and  how  shall  they  preach  except  they 
be  sent?”  (Rom.  x.  13,  14.)  Without  Jesus  Christ  and  His  love,  all  religions  are 
utterly  inadequate  and  nearly  worthless. 


Why  Believe  in  Foreign  Missions? 


5 


These  heathen  religions  have  no  true  system  of  morality.  A  great  Japanese 

statesman  declared  that  “he  had  come  to  realize  that  morality 
No  true  system  was  absolutely  indispensable  to  civilization,  and  that  religion 
of  morality  was  absolutely  indispensable  to  morality.”  There  is  only  one 

religion  which  can  furnish  an  adequate  moral  ideal,  and  that 
is  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ.  Among  the  heathen  nations  lying,  stealing,  un¬ 
chastity,  murder,  and  many  other  of  what  we  call  crimes,  are  not  only  not  for¬ 
bidden  but  are  even  taught  as  sometimes  proper.  Mohammed  says:  “Verily,  a  lie 

is  allowable  in  three  cases — to  a  woman,  to  reconcile  friends, 
Lying  and  in  war.”  The  god  Krishna  himself,  in  one  of  the  Hindu 

sacred  books,  declares  that  there  are  five  different  situations 
in  which  falsehood  may  be  used — “in  marriage,  for  the  gratification  of  lust,  to 
save  life,  to  secure  one’s  property,  and  for  the  sake  of  a  Brahman.”  These  five 
kinds  of  falsehood  have  been  declared  sinless.  The  Japanese  religion  has  failed 
to  perceive  and  enforce  the  inviolability  of  truth.  “God  cannot  lie,  and  what  God 
cannot  do,  no  religion  dare  pronounce  to  be  allowable  to  the  sons  of  God.”1 

As  to  chastity  Hinduism  is  particularly  guilty.  “Some  of  the  most  revered 

and  popular  writings  of  this  religion  are  so  full  of  obscenity 
Unchastity  and  impure  suggestion  that  to  publish  them  in  a  Christian 

land  in  the  English  tongue  would  make  the  publisher  liable 
to  imprisonment.  When,  years  ago,  Lord  Dalhousie,  the  viceroy  of  India,  enacted 
a  law  punishing  obscenity,  the  leaders  of  the  Hindu  religion  were  so  exercised  by 
it  that  the  Government  had  to  exempt  religious  writings  of  Hinduism  and  em¬ 
blems  of  that  faith  from  the  action  of  the  law.2  The  dancing  girls  of  the  temples, 
dedicated  by  their  mothers  in  infancy,  are  in  effect  professional  prostitutes.  There 
are  12,000  of  them  in  South  India  alone,  corrupting  the  youth  of  the  land,  and 
yet  they  are  a  part  of  the  religious  system.  Nor  is  India  the  only  country  sinning 
in  this  way. 

As  to  murder,  we  all  know  how  cheaply  life  is  held  in  heathen  lands.  Mr. 

Roosevelt,3  in  speaking  of  the  Mahdists  (a  sect  of  Moham- 
Murder  medans)  in  the  Sudan,  says :  “Theirs  was  a  cruelty  of  which 

we  in  our  lives  can  form  no  realization.  .  .  .  All  children 

were  killed  except  as  the  Government  took  possession.  .  .  .  The  figures  will 

show  this,  that  out  of  about  10,000,000  of  people,  7,000,000  were  killed  during  the 
years  of  the  Mahdi  uprising.”  Remember  the  wholesale  murder  of  female  chil¬ 
dren  in  China  and  in  India.  In  none  of  these  countries  have  they  the  Christian 
idea  of  the  sacredness  of  human  life. 

Heathen  religions  all  cut  off  some  portion  of  the  race  from  benefits  in  their 

profession.  Women  and  children  in  particular  are  generally 
.  Whole  race  not  included  as  beneficiaries.  Hindu,  Mohammedan  and  Chi- 

not  included  nese  women  are  never  treated  as  equals  by  men.  They  are 

either  kept  for  the  gratification  of  man’s  lust,  or  in  bondage 
as  laborers  for  his  service.  The  Hindu  woman,  for  example — and  the  principle 
obtains  in  all  heathen  countries — is  held  in  ignorance.  Only  six  Hindu  women 
in  a  thousand  can  read  or  write.  In  China  only  one  woman  in  ten  thousand  can 
read.  “The  Hindu  woman  has  never  been  esteemed  worthy  to  know  the  sacred 
books  of  her  own  faith.  Her  mind  is  not  a  fit  receptacle  for  such  truths.”4  In 


1  "The  Non-Christian  Religion  Inadequate,”  by  R.  E.  Speer. 

2  “Modern  Hinduism,”  by  the  Rev.  J.  P.  Jones. 

3  Literary  Digest ,  December  3d,  1910. 

4  Jones,  loc.  cit. 


6 


Why  Believe  in  Foreign  Missions? 


No  idea  of  the 
brotherhood  of 
man 


India  there  are  26,000,000  widows,  most  of  whom  are  kept  in  servitnde,  treated 
with  hardship  and  contempt,  and  very  many  are  the  prey  of  lustful  men.  The 
representatives  of  Hinduism  stand  in  the  way  of  all  helpful  legislation  for  their 
relief.  Not  only  are  women  debarred,  but  in  India  there  are  probably  50,000,000 
pariahs  (outcasts),  men  and  women.  They  are  not  only  socially  ostracized,  but 
are  under  the  definite  ban  of  the  Hindu  faith.  They  are  not  even  permitted  to 
enter  its  temples.  “They  are  condemned  by  Hinduism  to  grovel  eternally  at  the 
foot  of  the  social,  intellectual  and  moral  ladder.”  Many  of  these  pariahs  are  be¬ 
coming  Christians. 

They  have  no  idea  of  the  brotherhood  of  man  or  of  man’s 
responsibility  for  others.  They  know  nothing  of  love  as  it  is 
taught  in  our  religion.  A  Chinaman  or  a  Hindu  will  stand  by 
and  see  another  drown,  starve  or  burn,  without  its  ever  oc¬ 
curring  to  him  that  it  is  his  duty  to  try  to  save  him.  There  is  no  rational  or  sat¬ 
isfactory  provision  for  hospitals,  orphanages  or  other  charitable  institutions  in 
these  lands.  In  China  recently,  during  a  famine,  a  rich  Chinaman  made  a  comer 
in  rice  to  get  still  richer  out  of  the  calamities  of  his  fellow-countrymen.  A  woman 
in  the  pangs  of  childbirth  was  recently,  at  night,  put  off  a  canal  boat  near  St. 
John’s  College,  Shanghai,  because  she  might  die,  and  that  would  bring  bad  luck 
to  the  others  on  the  boat.  A  man  was  allowed  to  drown  because  two  dollars  was  not 
immediately  forthcoming  to  pay  in  advance  for  the  services  of  a  possible  rescuer. 

The  absence  of  a  knowledge  of  modern  science,  particularly  of  medicine  and 

sanitation,  causes  frightful  suffering  and  needless  mortality 
Suffering  in  all  heathen  lands.  Witchcraft  and  superstition  take  the 

from  ignorance  place  of  legitimate  medicine.  The  greatest  benefits  conferred 

by  missionaries  are  those  of  the  medical  men  and  women.  Not 
only  do  they  help  the  sick  and  afflicted,  but  in  so  doing  they  gain  the  confidence  of 
the  people  and  open  the  way  for  evangelistic  work. 

As  a  nation  we  owe  to  other  less  fortunate  nations  a  knowledge  of  what  has 

made  us  civilized.  We  are  ourselves  the  product  of  foreign 
Duty  as  a  nation  missions.  Our  forefathers  were  uneducated  barbarians  until 

the  Christian  missionaries  converted  and  civilized  them.  “If 
Christian  life  is  in  us,  having  come  to  us  through  those  generous  souls  that  have 
brought  it  down  to  us,  we  are  in  honor  bound  to  prove  our  birthright  by  passing  it 
on  to  those  who  have  it  not.” 

Putting  it  on  a  much  lower  plane,  we  should  not  forget  that  missionaries  have 

done  much  good  in  a  material  way.1  Africa,  Korea,  Man¬ 
churia,  China,  Burma,  Siam  and  Arabia,  nearly  the  whole  of 
Asia  and  Africa  have  been  opened  up  by  the  work  of  the  mis¬ 
sionaries.  Not  only  have  they  opened  up  the  countries,  but 
by  securing  the  confidence  of  the  natives  they  have  often  paved 
the  way  for  trade,  advantageous  alike  to  East  and  West. 

It  is,  again,  as  a  measure  of  self-protection,  that  we  should  seek  to  Christianize 

foreign  nations.  “In  all  history  there  has  not  been  a  period 
Necessity  for  when  such  vast  multitudes  of  people  were  in  the  midst  of  such 
self-protection  stupendous  changes,  economic,  social,  educational  and  re¬ 
ligious.”2  There  has  been  a  wonderful  awakening  both  in  Asia 
and  Africa.  The  Near  East  and  the  Ear  East  are  both  rousing  from  a  long  sleep. 


Commercial  ben¬ 
efits  of  mission¬ 
ary  work 


1  “The  World’s  Debt  to  the  Missionary,”  by  R.  E.  Speer. 

2  “The  Decisive  Hour  of  Christian  Missions,”  by  J.  R.  Mott,  p.  3. 


Why  Believe  in  Foreign  Missions? 


They  are  looking  toward  the  West,  and  are  eagerly  adopting  our  knowledge  and  our 
methods,  in  a  word,  our  civilization.  Whether  this  civilization  shall  he  Christian, 
whether  they  shall  adopt  our  religion  with  our  civilization,  is  of  the  utmost  im¬ 
portance,  not  only  to  them  hut  to  us  as  well.  China  with  its  countless  millions, 
civilized  and  supplied  with  all  the  power  which  modern  civilization  gives,  but  with¬ 
out  the  guiding  spirit  of  Christianity,  without  a  conscience,  will  be  a  distinct  threat 
to  the  rest  of  the  world.  Dr.  Pott,  of  St.  John’s  College,  Shanghai,  said,  before  the 
Laymen’s  Missionary  Congress  at  Chicago :  “The  real  ‘yellow  peril’  is  that  China 
may  be  a  godless  giant,  and  that  the  awakening  of  the  Par  East  may  mean  the  birth 
of  a  new  civilization — a  civilization  materialistic  in  spirit,  one  that  will  not  make 
for  the  progress  of  the  Kingdom  of  God ;  but  will  be  opposed  to  the  spiritual  de¬ 
velopment  of  the  race.”  We  shall  then  “be  face  to  face  with  what  will  be  a  menace 
to  the  best  interests  of  humanity.” 

The  Pandita  Ramabai  says  of  India :  “The  majority  of  the  higher  classes  are 
getting  Western  secular  education,  which  is  undermining  their  faith  in  their  an¬ 
cestral  religion.  They  are  not  getting  anything  better  to  take  the  place  of  the  old 
religion  in  their  hearts,  and  are  therefore  without  God,  without  hope,  without 
Christ,  going  down  socially  and  morally,  and  becoming  very  irreligious.” 

This  is  true,  though  in  a  less  degree,  of  Turkey,  Persia,  Egypt  and  other  Ori¬ 
ental  lands.  There  is  little  time  to  lose ;  we  must  push  this  matter  now,  while  the 
seething  mass  is  in  a  plastic  state.  Later  it  will  be  too  late,  and  both  we  and  they 
may  suffer  as  a  consequence. 

Not  only  does  work  for  missions  help  others,  but  through  it  we  get  in  return  a 

distinct  gain.  The  cases  are  numerous  where  church  congrega- 
Reflex  effect  on  tions  in  our  own  land,  which  were  dead  or  dying,  have  been 
Church  at  home  brought  to  life  by  taking  up  missionary  work.  Canon  Liddon 

says,  “Churches  are  generally  living  churches  in  the  exact  ratio 
of  their  missionary  activity.” 

The  individual  is  also  quickened  in  his  religious  life — as  has  proved  to  be  the 
case  over  and  over  again — by  an  active  interest  in  missions.  “The  deepening  of  the 
personal  consecration  to  our  Blessed  Lord  on  the  part  of  those  who  are  helping  the 
missionary  work  is  the  most  blessed  result  of  doing  it.” 

We  should  believe  in  missionaries  because  they  have  already  done  a  vast  deal 

for  heathen  lands,  and  they  should  be  supported  and  encour¬ 
aged  on  that  account.  Even  in  Africa,  which  at  first  seemed 
an  almost  hopeless  field,  owing  to  the  low  condition  of  the  na¬ 
tives,  an  immense  deal  has  been  accomplished.  In  Uganda 
the  missions  of  the  English  Church  have  perhaps  the  largest 
congregation  worshipping  under  one  roof  in  the  world.  Mr. 
Roosevelt,  after  seeing  what  has  been  done,  says,  “I  do  wish  that  the  well-meaning 
people  who  laugh  at  or  decry  missionary  work  could  realize  what  the  missionaries 
have  done  right  there  in  middle  Africa.” 

The  Hon.  Mr.  T.  V.  Seshagiri  Aiyet,  a  Hindu,  offers  this  testimony:  “The 
work  of  the  foreign  missions  is  waking  up  the  educated  classes  of  India.  It  has 
made  them  realize  that  they  would  be  losing  ground  if  they  neglect  to  raise  the  de¬ 
pressed  classes.”1  Similar  testimony  of  the  strongest  kind  comes  from  Japan  and 
Korea.  The  wonderful  awakening  in  China  is  largely  due  to  missionary  effort. 
“Taking  the  world  as  a  whole,  victory  is  assured  if  the  present  campaign  be  ade¬ 
quately  supported  and  pressed.”  (Mott.) 


Missionaries 
should  be  sup¬ 
ported  for  what 
they  have  done 


l  Literary  Digest,  loc.  cit. 


Sixth  Edition,  October,  1914.  (10M. — 29M.)  S.P. 


s 


Why  Believe  in  Foreign  Missions? 


Most  important  of  all  in  this  connection  is  the  conclusive  proof  that  God’s 

Holy  Spirit  is  working  with  the  missionaries.  Numerous 
The  work  of  instances  might  be  cited  where  the  most  depraved  and  debased 

the  Holy  Spirit  heathen  have  been  converted  by  reading  or  hearing  the  Gospel. 

(See  Mott’s  book,  “The  Decisive  Hour.”) 

Where  so  much  has  already  been  accomplished,  can  we  afford  to  neglect  the 
workers  in  the  field  ?  It  is  certainly  our  duty  to  hold  up  their  hands  and  give  them 
adequate  support. 

Christian  unity1,  which  some  of  us  so  eagerly  long  for,  is  certainly  promoted  by 

missionary  work.  Nothing  has  been  more  strikingly  proved 
Christian  Unity  by  the  Laymen’s  Missionary  Movement.  At  a  meeting  of  mis- 
promoted  sionaries  at  the  Centenary  Conference  in  Shanghai,  those  as¬ 

sembled,  representing  almost  every  Protestant  communion, 
spoke  in  the  strongest  terms.  They  declared  that  they  acknowledged  that  the 
Apostles’  Creed  and  the  Nicene  Creed  substantially  express  the  fundamental  doc¬ 
trines  of  the  Christian  faith ;  further,  they  said,  “We  gladly  recognize  ourselves  as 
already  one  body  in  Christ,  teaching  one  way  of  eternal  life,  and  calling  men  into 
one  holy  fellowship” — and  more  in  the  same  strain. 

As  Churchmen  we  have  certain  things  to  teach  which  the  other  Christian 

bodies  in  part  omit.  We  have  a  system  inherited  from  the 
Duty  as  earliest  times,  which  we  believe  is  according  to  the  teaching  of 

Churchmen  Christ.  We  can  intelligently  bring  to  the  people  of  heathen 

lands  a  true  knowledge  of  the  sacraments  of  the  Church,  which 
we  believe  are  the  best,  and  a  necessary  means,  of  spiritual  development.  It  is  quite 
likely  that  in  time  there  will  be  a  great  Church  of  China,  a  great  Church  of  J apan 
and  a  great  Church  of  India,  including  all  the  Christians  in  those  countries. 
Surety  we  do  not  want  to  see  these  national  churches  so  organized  that  we  cannot 
recognize  them  as  parts  of  the  Holy  Catholic  Church.  Unless  we  make  our  influ¬ 
ence  strongly  felt  in  these  lands,  this  unfortunate  event  is  likely  to  occur.  It  is  our 
duty  then,  as  Churchmen,  to  use  every  endeavor  to  prevent  what  we  believe  would 
be  a  great  calamity,  by  presenting  our  views  strongly  and  by  gaining  as  many  ad¬ 
herents  as  we  can,  so  as  to  bring  as  much  influence  as  possible  to  bear  in  the  organ¬ 
ization  of  these  national  churches. 

Lastly,  the  rapid  evangelizing  of  the  world  will  hasten  the  second  coming  of 

our  Lord.  Has  He  not  Himself  declared:2  “And  this  gospel 
The  of  the  kingdom  shall  be  preached  in  all  the  world  for  a  wit- 

second  coming  ness  to  all  nations;  and  then  shall  the  end  come.”  (St. 

Matt.  xxiv.  14.) 

Prom  what  is  here  written,  it  seems  very  clear  that  the  duty  of  working  for 
the  spread  of  His  Gospel  is  one  which  devolves  upon  every  follower  of  Jesus  Christ. 
We  may  well  ask.  How  can  a  man  call  himself  a  Christian  and  not  believe  in  mis¬ 
sions  ?  The  preaching  of  the  Gospel  is  the  greatest  duty  of  the  Church,  and  there¬ 
fore  of  each  of  its  members. 

Of  late  there  has  grown  up  a  wonderful  literature  on  missions.  Let  him  who 
still  doubts  read,  and  he  will  surety  be  convinced,  that  as  Christians  and  as  Church¬ 
men  we  must  use  every  effort ;  give,  give,  and  give  again ;  pray  without  ceasing  and 
work  unremittingly,  that  our  Lord’s  command  may  be  obeyed,  and  the  Gospel 
preached  to  every  creature — not  sometime,  but  now. 


1  See  “Foreign  Missions  and  Christian  Unity,”  by  R.  E.  Spee.'  • 

2  Most  commentators  agree  that  this  verse  refers  to  the  second  coming  of  our  Lord,  and  not 
to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem. 


